Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections in pediatric patients: potential role of dalbavancin

Real-World Use of Dalbavancin for Treatment of Soft Tissue and Bone Infection in Children: Safe, Effective and Hospital-Time Sparing

Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and osteoarticular infections compound the burden of morbidity, mortality and prolonged hospitalizations among gram-positive infections. Dalbavancin, a second-generation, intravenous lipoglycopeptide, due to its prolonged half-life, can be a valuable alternative in their treatment when administered as inpatient treatment at the price of an extended hospital stay. Between October 2019 and September 2023, 31 children and adolescents were treated with dalbavancin because of bone and joint infections (n = 12 patients, 39%), ABSSSI (n = 13 patients, 42%), mainly for the limbs, facial cellulitis or complicated ABSSSI (n = 6 patients, 19%), at five Italian pediatric centers. Microbiological study provided gram-positive bacterial isolate in 16 cases, in 11 cases from a positive blood culture; 9 of them were MRSA. Twenty-five patients were initially treated with a different antibiotic therapy: beta-lactam-based in 18 patients (58%), glycopeptide-based in 15 patients (48%) and daptomycin in 6 (19%). The median time that elapsed between admission and start of dalbavancin was 18 days. A total of 61 doses of dalbavancin were administered to the 31 patients: 16 received a single dose while the remaining 15 patients received between two (n = 9) and nine doses. The frequency of administration was weekly in five cases or fortnightly in nine patients. Median length of stay in hospital was 16 days. Median time to discharge after the first dose of dalbavancin was 1 day. Treatment was very well-tolerated: of the 61 administered doses, only four doses, administered to four patients, were associated with an adverse event: drug extravasation during intravenous administration occurred in two patients, with no sequelae; however, in two patients the first administration was stopped soon after infusion start: in one (ID #11), due to headache and vomiting; in another (ID #12) due to a systemic reaction. In both patients, drug infusion was not repeated. None of the remaining 29 patients reported treatment failure (resistant or recurrent disease) or an adverse effect during a median follow-up time of two months. The use of dalbavancin was safe, feasible and also effective in shortening the hospital stay in children and adolescents.

New Antimicrobials and New Therapy Strategies for Endocarditis: Weapons That Should Be Defended

The overall low-quality evidence concerning the clinical benefits of different antibiotic regimens for the treatment of infective endocarditis (IE), which has made it difficult to strongly support or reject any regimen of antibiotic therapy, has led to a discrepancy between the available guidelines and clinical practice. In this complex scenario, very recently published guidelines have attempted to fill this gap. Indeed, in recent years several antimicrobials have entered the market, including ceftobiprole, ceftaroline, and the long-acting lipoglycopeptides dalbavancin and oritavancin. Despite being approved for different indications, real-world data on their use for the treatment of IE, alone or in combination, has accumulated over time. Furthermore, an old antibiotic, fosfomycin, has gained renewed interest for the treatment of complicated infections such as IE. In this narrative review, we focused on new antimicrobials and therapeutic strategies that we believe may provide important contributions to the advancement of Gram-positive IE treatment, providing a summary of the current in vitro, in vivo, and clinical evidence supporting their use in clinical practice.

Pharmacokinetics and safety of a single dose of telavancin in pediatric subjects 2-17 years of age

Antimicrobial resistance increases infection morbidity in both adults and children, necessitating the development of new therapeutic options. Telavancin, an antibiotic approved in the United States for certain bacterial infections in adults, has not been examined in pediatric patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the short-term safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of a single intravenous infusion of telavancin in pediatric patients. Single-dose safety and PK of 10 mg/kg telavancin was investigated in pediatric subjects >12 months to ≤17 years of age with known or suspected bacterial infection. Plasma was collected up to 24-h post-infusion and analyzed for concentrations of telavancin and its metabolite for noncompartmental PK analysis. Safety was monitored by physical exams, vital signs, laboratory values, and adverse events following telavancin administration. Twenty-two subjects were enrolled: 14 subjects in Cohort 1 (12-17 years), 7 subjects in Cohort 2 (6-11 years), and 1 subject in Cohort 3 (2-5 years). A single dose of telavancin was well-tolerated in all pediatric age cohorts without clinically significant effects. All age groups exhibited increased clearance of telavancin and reduced exposure to telavancin compared to adults, with mean peak plasma concentrations of 58.3 µg/mL (Cohort 1), 60.1 µg/mL (Cohort 2), and 53.1 µg/mL (Cohort 3). A 10 mg/kg dose of telavancin was well tolerated in pediatric subjects. Telavancin exposure was lower in pediatric subjects compared to adult subjects. Further studies are needed to determine the dose required in phase 3 clinical trials in pediatrics.

Invasive Candida infection: epidemiology, clinical and therapeutic aspects of an evolving disease and the role of rezafungin

INTRODUCTION

Invasive Candida Infections (ICIs) have undergone a series of significant epidemiological, pathophysiological, and clinical changes during the last decades, with a shift toward non-albicans species, an increase in the rate of exogenous infections and clinical manifestations ranging from candidemia to an array of highly invasive and life-threatening clinical syndromes. The long-acting echinocandin rezafungin exhibits potent in-vitro activity against most wild-type and azole-resistant Candida spp. including C.auris.

AREAS COVERED

The following topics regarding candidemia only and ICIs were reviewed and addressed: i) pathogenesis; ii) epidemiology and temporal evolution of Candida species; iii) clinical approach; iv) potential role of the novel long-acting rezafungin in the treatment of ICIs.

EXPERT OPINION

Authors' expert opinion focused on considering the potential role of rezafungin in the evolving context of ICIs. Rezafungin, which combines a potent in-vitro activity against Candida species, including azole-resistant strains and C.auris, with a low likelihood of drug-drug interactions and a good safety profile, may revolutionize the treatment of candidemia/ICI. Indeed, it may shorten the length of hospital stays when clinical conditions allow and extend outpatient access to treatment of invasive candidiasis, especially when prolonged treatment duration is expected.

Fire Needle Combined Topical Mupirocin for the Treatment of Simple Skin Abscesses in Pediatric Patients: A Case Series

Background

Skin abscesses are a common skin condition usually caused by bacterial infections and their incidence is increasing in children. Its current management strategy is still mainly incision and drainage, sometimes with antibiotics. In pediatric patients, surgical incision and drainage of skin abscesses is challenging compared to in adults because of their specific age and psychological characteristics and high aesthetic requirements. Therefore, it is important to seek better treatment options.

Patients and methods

We reported 17 cases of skin abscesses in pediatric patients aged 1 to 9 years. Ten cases had lesions on the face and neck and 7 cases on the trunk and limbs. They all received treatment based on fire needle combined with topical mupirocin.

Results

The lesions of all 17 pediatric patients healed within 4 to 14 days, with a median time of 6 days, and all achieved satisfactory results with no scarring left behind. No adverse events were observed in all patients, and no recurrence occurred within 4 weeks.

Conclusion

For skin abscesses in pediatric patients, early application of a combination therapy based on fire needle is convenient, aesthetic, economical, safe and clinically important as an alternative to incision and drainage, and deserves further clinical promotion.